[fenixdown110]

Glad to see you like them Momiji.

Foams are back in when I upgraded to the Headphile BlackSilver cables. Otherwise it's too harsh. Now this is a full rich sound the way it was meant to be. UPOCC silver FTW.

 

[Boom Shaka Laka]

"I like to read how people hear stuff I like."

But then you don't let yourself be surprised or change your mind when you hear something different. Music appreciation of many genres is part of the learning curve that trains your ears and eventually being able to decipher what is "natural" and what isn't. I've never been an Elvis or Johnny Cash fan but some of those recordings have amazing vocal quality and can be used as test cd's for equipment your auditioning. Horns, pianos and acoustic guitar are good instruments to test the tonal accuracy of a system. Coloration will have a smearing effect over a particular freq range.

In the beginning we are all a bit biased toward a particular style of music. While having a transparent system can have many pluses, cost not being one of them, it may not be as musical as one would like. Obviously, a system that can balance the 2 is ideal.

These threads can be an interesting read. I invite evryone back in 5-10yrs and see if you feel the same way about these cans. I actually like the 601's over the 701's and beginning to think the 600's best the 650 in SE mode. I have heard the 650's balanced and that is quite an improvement no matter what cable you use.

Hope I didn't digress too much...

 

[fenixdown110]

Balanced is my next step. Too bad balanced amps are a gripload of money.

 

[donunus]

There are semi inexpensive balanced amps out there like the little dot. I havent heard the sound for myself though so I can't really comment in that area

 

[MomijiTMO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boom Shaka Laka /img/forum/go_quote.gif "I like to read how people hear stuff I like." But then you don't let yourself be surprised or change your mind when you hear something different. Music appreciation of many genres is part of the learning curve that trains your ears and eventually being able to decipher what is "natural" and what isn't. I've never been an Elvis or Johnny Cash fan but some of those recordings have amazing vocal quality and can be used as test cd's for equipment your auditioning. Horns, pianos and acoustic guitar are good instruments to test the tonal accuracy of a system. Coloration will have a smearing effect over a particular freq range. In the beginning we are all a bit biased toward a particular style of music. While having a transparent system can have many pluses, cost not being one of them, it may not be as musical as one would like. Obviously, a system that can balance the 2 is ideal. These threads can be an interesting read. I invite everyone back in 5-10yrs and see if you feel the same way about these cans. I actually like the 601's over the 701's and beginning to think the 600's best the 650 in SE mode. I have heard the 650's balanced and that is quite an improvement no matter what cable you use. Hope I didn't digress too much...

I enjoyed reading that. I only just set sail on my musical journey and have many years ahead of me.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixdown110 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Foams are back in when I upgraded to the Headphile BlackSilver cables. Otherwise it's too harsh. Now this is a full rich sound the way it was meant to be. UPOCC silver FTW.

Well, I've just ordered the Headphile BlackSilver cable for my 650 so we'll see if my assessment is as positive as yours. As for the foam, I tried that mod and the phone lost all it's sense of refinment--it was like listening in a cave. I'd bet the foam is part of the design and serves a dampening purpose. On that note I've been experimenting with a foam-modded 555, effectively a
595, trying to rid it of a slight glare in the treble. I tried damping fleece in the rear and it did nothing. What did work was a covering of thin (1/16th inch) soft felt over the baffle, with a hole about 1/2 inch round cut to correspond with the "eye" of the driver. This removes all sense of glare and is too thin to touch the ears so doesn't affect comfort.

 

[fenixdown110]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I've just ordered the Headphile BlackSilver cable for my 650 so we'll see if my assessment is as positive as yours. As for the foam, I tried that mod and the phone lost all it's sense of refinment--it was like listening in a cave. I'd bet the foam is part of the design and serves a dampening purpose. On that note I've been experimenting with a foam-modded 555, effectively a 595, trying to rid it of a slight glare in the treble. I tried damping fleece in the rear and it did nothing. What did work was a covering of thin (1/16th inch) soft felt over the baffle, with a hole about 1/2 inch round cut to correspond with the "eye" of the driver. This removes all sense of glare and is too thin to touch the ears so doesn't affect comfort.

Remember to burn the cables before jumping to any conclusions.

If it's how it is with mine, you'll feel the 650's brighten up and hear more detail.

The foam seems to retain the bass and slight veil. Without it, it becomes somewhat harsh and flat/lifeless. Where did the bass go?

It sounded closer to a K701 at that point, but not as much detail.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixdown110 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It sounded closer to a K701 at that point, but not as much detail.

And without the metallic colouration, right?

 

[K_19]

Yeah, I was definitely not a fan of the HD650 sound either when I took out the foam. The 650's lost their distinctiveness after that IMO. You may as well go for the HD600 if that's the sound you are looking for.

 

[Smoke]

Just bought the HD 650 because curiosity got the best of me. Coming from the HD 595. Wow, what can I say? It's twice the price of the HD 595, but it's not twice as good.

Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!

btw: my Hifiman EF2 seems to drive them really wel!

 

[fenixdown110]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 /img/forum/go_quote.gif And without the metallic colouration, right?

haha You got that right.

 

[MomijiTMO]

Taking out the foam = less bass = emphasis on highs = just buy a K701.

That explains why I felt they weren't that different. With the foam in it's a different story.

 

[fenixdown110]

K701's or D5000's next? Hmmm...

 

[debitsohn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixdown110 /img/forum/go_quote.gif K701's or D5000's next? Hmmm...

upgrading already?!
lol im really curious about denons more than the k701s. but thats just me.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoke /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just bought the HD 650 because curiosity got the best of me. Coming from the HD 595. Wow, what can I say? It's twice the price of the HD 595, but it's not twice as good.

No indeed. The 650 is a refinement of the 595, but not a huge leap forward. If you check HeadRoom you see their graphs are remarkably similar, except that the 650 has a much fatter lower midrange area. Despite some disparaging comments on this forum, with some people totally running them into the ground, I've never had any doubt that the 555/595 represent the best value in headphones today. People can scoff, but it wasn't for nothing Hi Fi Choice gave them "Best Headphone Under 200 Pounds"